50 years ago
Oct. 3, 1973
— APPLE PICKING, ALTHOUGH AUTOMATED, STILL REQUIRES PEOPLE FOR HARVEST
People are very much involved in one important of the most agriculture harvest in Barry County that is currently underway. From the chore of picking to packing, apples require a lot of people to get the product off the Vollenweider Orchard tree and into the consumers hands. Out in the sprawling orchard that straddles Route 76-86 between Cassville and Exeter, pickers these days are climbing over the trees with the aid of ladders or plucking the fruit from ground level it doesn’t take them long to fill their bushel size picking sacks that open at the bottom for fast process. An average picker will gather from 60 to 80 bushel in a six and onehalf to seven-hour day. For his efforts he makes about $21 a day. On the other hand a professional picker with speed can take 100 to 150 bushel of the trees and pocket about $52.50 a day.
— CORPORATION WILL PUSH TO BUILD CASSVILLE AIRPORT
A group of 50 businessmen took the lead in Cassville’s obtaining a new airport in a breakfast meeting Tuesday morning. Pledges of $10,000 were obtained to finance purchase of an initial 12 acres toward the airport project. Operating under the Chamber of Commerce airport committee and Industrial Development Corporation, the meeting attracted one of the largest group of supporters witnessed here in quite sometime. Max Fields, chairman, represented the of group and Bill Wiley, president was DC spokesman. Scheduled to operate under a corporation being established, Barry Developers, In the group will acquire the acreage west of Highway 37 northwest of Cassville that was formerly the location of Barry Block Company. Part of the location is being proposed as an IDC site. Purchase price is $18,000. Although additional land will be acquired for the airport strip, Wiley and Fields said the project would be started with this access land purchase. Tom Martens of the Aviation Division of the Missouri Department of Resources and Industrial Development, spoke to the group at Paul’s Cafe at the C of C’s invitation. His information covered what Missouri and Federal assistance that might be forthcoming when the project was ready for completion. Mertens said for an expenditure of the part $25,000 on of this area, additional grants from the two levels of government would provide an additional $175,000 for a facility in this area that would be second to none in this section of the state. The initial land purchase will be made this week in preparation for the program moving toward further city involvement. Over three years in development, the program was revived more actively when federal participation jumped to 75% matching funds in recent months. Cassville has long been on federal schedules as priority for acquiring airport facilities for this recreation and possible industrial area. Previously, two bond issues to provide funds have been defeated by local residents, This prompted the formation of the private group to push the project.
— GUEST ON TV PROGRAM
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Beeson who of Rt. 2, Cassville, have recently moved here from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to make their home in the Oak Ridge Community have received word that their oldest daughter Phyllis will be the featured guest “Mr. Rogers” on the program October 16. This show is on National Educational Television and is shown five days a week featuring many subjects. In this show, the harp is the topic. The two harps used in the October show belong to Phyllis, who does all the background music requiring harp for these series. Periodically she is featured personally. Phyllis is a granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Roy K. Beeson and a graduate of the Manhattan School in New York of Music City and for five years was harpist with the Pittsburgh symphony in Pennsylvania. Since her marriage to Dr. Anthony Frederick Susen, neurosurgeon in Pittsburgh, Phyllis has confined her work to concertizing and free-lance work along with her work with Mr. Fred.
40 years ago
Sept. 28, 1983
— COUNTY OMITTED IN DROUGHT HELP LIST
Barry County is not included in the 101 Missouri counties recommended to receive drought relief assistance from the federal government. The initial list released in Washington this week failed to approve 13 counties in the state. Six are in the southern part of the state. The counties omitted, “haven’t been rejected,” one official said. “They are being reviewed because more information was needed,” a state Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation official said. Selection of counties for the assistance is apparently based on emergency board reports submitted to Washington about 30 days ago. The board, consisting of representatives of the ASCS, Soil Conservation Service, Farmers Home Administration and University of Missouri Extension Service, completed disaster reports at the request of the federal government. One spokesman said, “At that time it was not certain what effect the lack of moisture would have OD soybeans, cuttings of alfalfa and fall regrowth of pasture.” Another agriculture spokesman said “Extensive grasslands and lack of cropping could be a factor in Barry County not being included in the initial listing of those scheduled for FmHA assistance.” All adjoining counties to Barry are listed in the 101 receiving initial approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Tuesday’s disaster declaration will allow those in approved areas who suffered heavy crop losses from the summer’s scorching weather to get special financial aid through FmHA. Individuals must demonstrate a 30 percent loss in order to be eligible for the funds. A spokesman for FmHA, J. O. Foster, state director and a native of the Wheaton area, said assistance would “include loans of 80 percent of the estimated drought loss, up to a maximum of $500,000 per farm.” The last time federal involvement in drought assistance was triggered, 1980, farmers in state borrowed nearly $200 million and received $57 million in emergency feed programs to aid livestock producers who lost feed and forage.
— VOLLEYBALL RECORD FOR GALS TO 3-1
Cassville’s varsity volleyball team coached by Becky Henningson ran their record to 5-1 last week with a pair of varsity wins. The lady Wildcats stand 2-1 in Big Eight Conference play. Next home action for the teams will be this Thursday evening with East Newton furnishing opposition. Exeter fell before the Wildcats with a pair of games last week, 15-13 and 15-3 in junior varsity games. Tammi Dilli and Diana Base served eight points each. In the varsity game, Cassville won 15-13 and 15-8. Jan Snyder with eight points and Tonya Stumpff with Seven were Cassville leaders. Cassville’s junior varsity was pushed to three games by Seneca last week. The Wildcats won the first 15-10, lost the second 14-16 and then fell by an identical score in the third contest. Mary Jane Schlichtman was high server with 12 points. Varsity action against the Indians found Cassville winning 16-14 and 15-9. Penny Barnett served 14 points for the Wildcats.
— OPC Recognition At Annual Meeting Two men who have been involved in agri-business in Barry and Lawrence counties for a number of years were recognized Tuesday night during the annual stockholders meeting of Production Credit Association. Kerry Brooks, manager of the Cassville of. fice, said the honors were made during the 50th anniversary meeting of PCA. Plaque presentations were made to Bill Hailey of Cassville and Morris Daugherty of Mt. Vernon. Hailey was associated in the tractor and implement business in Cassville for many years. Daugherty, a former Barry Cunty school teacher, was associated with PCA operations a number of years. Ken Morris, University of Missouri Extension specialists, waS master of ceremonies for the dinner meeting at the Monett Park Casino. Morris also reviewed past history of agriculture in this area and projected changes during the coming year. Brooks said the anniversary session attracted one of the largest turnouts on record from the two-county area.
— LOCAL COMPETES FOR MISS SOUTH MISSOURI
Sheila Roark, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Roark of Cassville, is a contestant in the Miss South Missouri pageant at Neosho November 5. She is a 17-year-old senior at CHS. Entries were open to residents of the six-county area of the state.
30 years ago
Sept. 22, 1993
— SBCH RAISES LEVEL EMERGENCY ROOM SERVICES
Levels of service and coverage at South Barry County Hospital emergency room have been raised, according to Debbie Stubbs, administrator. She said this week, “The hospital board has instituted a program whereby a doctor is available on premises for the emergency room around the clock, seven days a week. Stubbs said the expansion of services for the ER is an outgrowth of the district’s hospital providing full-time Friday through Monday services a year ago as a relief effort for staff members. That service was provided through National Emergency Services that assigned doctors to SBCH from other locale in the region. At that time emergency coverage during the week was provided by staff physicians on an alternating basis. The hospital administrator said fees for use of the ER have also been restructured. She stated, “Right now our charges average lower than other area hospitals. There might be some areas where we’re higher, but comparing equal services we’re running below average area charges. “Now the emergency services are being provided by three contract and four employee physicians,” according to Stubbs. She noted the NES would still be used for spot coverage when necessary. In addition to NES, contract services are provided by Jerry Jumper, D.O., who once worked full-time for the hospital; Clark Flanary, D.C. and Victor Occeno, M.D., both staff physicians. Employee doctors involved in the ER coverage include Norman Tullis, M.D., Michael Payne, M.D., Cass Lear, M.D. and James Warn, D. O.
— FEMA DECISION COUNTY DAMAGE
Representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Administration have made another decision on damage in Barry County from early July flash floods. Two employees of the Army Corps of Engineers on loan to the federal agency, have completed their survey of Barry County Road damages. While the federal people could not release funding proposals, county clerk Rex Stumpff said the total amount approved was increased about $29,000 this week with the addition of damage in three road districts. Stumpff said FEMA officials have concluded the county’s damage approval will be in the $300,000 level. First county estimates of the damage were $788,000. Reduced by more than one-half, the amount will apparently be funded at 90 percent by the federal government with the county or road districts expected to cost the remaining damage. The county official said Henry Bordelon and Terry Temple, both Corps of Engineer employees from Louisiana, added work in Mountain, Washburn and Pioneer Road districts to the county damage list. Included were Mountain $6,657.60, Washburn $17,466.25 and Pioneer $5,023.85. That report will be made by Stumpff to the County Commission during their Thursday meeting. Previously, FEMA has told the city of Cassville their damage reimbursement would be at the $69,000 level. First estimates after the July 6 flash flood through the town, placed damage at $233,712. There apparently has been no action on agricultural estimates, unless they have been made at the State level, according to Heather Lightfoot-Alaimo, director of the Barry County ASCS. Preliminary estimates on damage to fences, ponds and debris removal on farms in the county stood at $450,000. That signup is under an October 6 deadline for farmers to get information to the county office, according to Lightfoot-Alaimo. The ASCS spokesperson said the office had just started taking applications for crop damage resulting from the flood. She said the deadline was well into the future, March 4, 1994.
